The Nka Foundation recently challenged young graduates and students of architecture to redesign the African mud hut for Ghana. The result, three designs received top honors for being both functional and beautiful, and will now be realized through a series of building workshops that you can participate in. Learn more and check out the winning designs, after the break.
The challenge was to design a $6,000 (max) single-family unit on a 60 x 60 foot plot with the maximum use of earth and local labor in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The client is a typical middle-income family at any township within the region.
FIRST PRIZE: Sankofa House / M.A.M.O.T.H; France (pictured above)
SECOND PRIZE: Eban Aya / Atelier Koe; Senegal
THIRD PRIZE: Ejisu Earth House / Jason Orbe-Smith; USA
You can help realize the winning designs by joining the effort as a workshop director or a participant in Ghana. Each prototyping workshop will run for about 10 weeks. Participants can join at any time and participate for a minimum of 1 month. Students can use the workshop opportunity to fulfill the academic requirements for their internship or thesis. Interested? Contact the Nka Foundation here.
